Better roads in Gateway may spur developers

Development in the Gateway area in east Portland is being inhibited because the neighborhood lacks any sort of “wow” feature, according to Metro. But that doesn’t matter much, residents say, because the discontinuous streets there likely would not even lead to such a feature.

The city and developers agree with residents: Redevelopment of the Gateway area hasn’t taken off because the streets don’t work.

Many of Gateway’s streets lead nowhere, or don’t connect to other streets to create full blocks. The concern now is that if new buildings were constructed at some sites that streets would lead into them.

But City Council on Sept. 9 is set to review a transportation master plan, which includes measures to connect these discontinuous thoroughfares, said Cheryl Kuck, spokeswoman for the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Arlene Kimura, chairwoman of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association, said redevelopment activity in the area is overdue. But she is optimistic about Gateway’s future.

“There are some big ideas out here, but you always need people to help you out. We haven’t had that in the past,” Kimura said.

The cost of improvements such as road repairs and sidewalk work, was being levied on developers, Kimura said. In turn, developers were wary about investing in the area.

The new transportation plan, however, calls for adding new roads and connections. The plan also is pliable enough for transportation planners to tweak it so that future developments can be accommodated.

That’s good news for developers who have been frustrated by the poor connections and a perceived lack of city interest in the neighborhood. Now they’re excited about Gateway’s prospects.

Bob Schatz is one of those developers. He has been planning a four-story office building in Gateway for a year and a half. But he’s run into trouble with the city. The Bureau of Development Services rejected his early building designs, saying they weren’t “coherent” and didn’t fit within the context of the neighborhood. He blamed that in part on how little redevelopment has taken place in Gateway, and the transportation problems.

“It’s been tough,” Schatz said. “We haven’t even made it to the permitting process yet.”

Developer Ted Gilbert said the city’s transportation plan is a key in making the Gateway area more attractive to developers. He has been working on a mixed-use development in the neighborhood for three years. With more city and stakeholder interest in the area, he said, he’s confident the project will eventually be built.

“In the last year, the momentum has built substantially,” he said.

The new transportation plan outlines changes to the streetscape that would include turning 99th Avenue into a north-south thoroughfare, which would provide better access to new developments.

Another aspect of the plan involves improving the area’s other north-south connections, which would make it easier for drivers to reach Gateway’s two retail districts.

The transportation plan also calls for bigger blocks in the center of the Gateway area that could be filled by large-scale redevelopment projects.

Kimura is cautiously optimistic. She said she believes a lack of money could delay projects for a few years.